You know when you are on vacation and the entire time you think about how you never want it to end? And one day you will be back in the "real world" longing to be on vacation again? That's how I feel right now about life with my girl. 3 years old is a lot of fun. She says crazy things like "I like cats in the morning" because she feels the need to throw "in the morning" or "last year" or "in another country" onto the end of her sentences. My favorite was "I used to like blue when I was a baby last year in another country". Yep, she's nuts. I know someday I will look back and wish I could step into this time again. We are enjoying Christmas vacation and the extra time with our girl.

So Christmas...unfortunately several members of my family came down with the stomach flu and we had to postpone our celebration. We did manage to see lots of non-flu infected family and friends and enjoy the holiday. And thankfully the sick ones are all better!

Bribe induced Christmas photo session with mom...

She was super excited about her gift from Santa this year...

And we started a new tradition taken from my favorite blogger Kelle Hampton. Alan & I each took her to the dollar store separately. We gave her $5 to pick out presents for us. I got a pair of fairy wings, snow globe, division table, can strainer, and a flashlight. She bought Alan a teddy bear, silly glasses, bag of balls, bag of dinosaurs, and a happy birthday candle. The greeting cards were my favorite.

Watching this site grow has been so much fun! In the last year there were visitors from 43 countries! I enjoy sharing bits of our lives with you through photos, stories, recipes, and whatever ramblings happen to end up here. Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog! I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and the best in 2013!

Came across this recipe and it reminded me of something we have frequently at family gatherings. So simple and tasty! Veggies slow cooked in butter...you can't go wrong with that. Here's what I learned:

Original recipe called for mushrooms only. My mother-in-law makes it with green beans and mushrooms so we did the same.

Instead of using an onion I did one shallot.

You could easily add peppers and onions or do just mushrooms. Very versatile!

DIRECTIONSPut green beans, shallot, and mushrooms into a crock pot. Melt butter and stir in Italian salad dressing mix. Pour over vegetables and give it a stir. Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours or until tender.

*For the mushrooms only version omit the beans and add one pound of whole fresh mushrooms.